


Chaser

by ByAStream



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Protective Tony Stark, Storm Chasing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:40:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26374375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ByAStream/pseuds/ByAStream
Summary: Storm chasing is your passion. You decided in high school to study atmospheric science and spend your life studying storms. An accident leads you to the Avengers compound. A mother hen Tony Stark, a confused and concerned supersoldier, and some meddling friends, life is taking a new and unexpected turn.
Relationships: Bruce Banner & Reader, James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader, Tony Stark & Reader
Kudos: 20





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr: jbbarnesnnoble.tumblr.com

Warm winds wrapped around you like a sweater fresh from the dryer. The smell of rain and wet dirt lingered in the air. Storm season had arrived and with it the dangers you’d become accustomed to. The Avengers fought bad guys. You chased tornadoes and embraced hurricanes. Tony never understood why you were so fascinated with the weather, why you would put yourself at risk. You’d ask him the same question about his adventures as Iron Man. 

You had changed course to study atmospheric sciences in your undergrad at Cornell in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. You were able to get your masters with an extra year of study. With school done, you found yourself in Virginia, chasing a particularly strong line of storms. You kept a close eye on the reports from the National Weather Service and reports from other chasers.

“You think we’ll see a big one today?” Cody asked. Cody was one of your partners when it came to research.

“Data suggests yes. If we can get this data with the tools Tony helped me design, it could revolutionize forecasting,” you said. You were on edge. The thrill of the chase always put you on edge. Anxiety over things that could go wrong. And there was a lot that could go wrong. 

In New York, Tony Stark was pacing the lab. Bruce shook his head as he watched the other man. Tony had gotten the call from you that morning. Strong cell moving into Virginia. The first true test of an instrument you had designed with Tony while in college. 

“She’ll be fine,” Bruce said. Tony didn’t reply. Instead he had FRIDAY give him an update on your location and the weather conditions.

“A tornado warning has been issued with rotation indicated two miles southwest of her,” FRIDAY told him. Tony ran a hand through his hair as he watched the dashboard for the instrument you had made. Aliens he could handle. You, who had endeared yourself to him with your passion, who put yourself in harms way constantly in a way he couldn’t save you from, he couldn’t handle. Pepper joked that you were another one of Tony’s adopted children. She wasn’t far off in that assessment. 

“She’ll be fine,” Bruce repeated. Tony attempted to contact you, to no avail. It worried him. You always managed to keep an open line with him if he wasn’t on a mission while you were out chasing. If not him, then FRIDAY monitored you. The radio silence sent a pang of worry through him. 

“We have a problem,” FRIDAY said. 


	2. Downdraft

**_Log #15042018_ **

**_Location: Lynchburg, Virginia_ **

**_Downdraft (n.) - “a column of cool air that sinks toward the ground. It is most often accompanied by rain.”_ **

The air was heavy with the promise of a storm. You knew the conditions were perfect for tornado formation. Usually you didn’t venture too far to the east in the midst of tornado season but you’d been tracking the storm system and knew the potential for fireworks was there.

For as long as you could remember, you were obsessed with the weather. Your mother would recall how you could tell it was going to storm without ever looking at a radar map when you were a child. You almost wondered if you had some kind of mutation. It was an ability that persisted into adulthood. Your mother’s favorite story to tell was about how you begged her to go home one day when the weather was clear and rain wasn’t in the forecast. Three hours later a storm rolled in that knocked out power for most of the town and brought down some of the bigger trees. 

“What’s the game plan, Twister?” Sheridan asked you. Casey Sheridan was one of your partners in the field. The man was a trained first responder, volunteering back home with the local EMS. You had a small team assembled, all with the goal of studying storm systems to advance the science communities understanding of them.

“Thanks to our generous benefactor, we don’t have to pull a Jo Thornton and get right up with the tornado. The AI system will control the flight of the probes into the tornado and give us perhaps the most comprehensive data to date. The more storms we do this with, the more complete the data set becomes. Even if the probes become damaged entirely, the data will hopefully transmit. They have a home base they’ll return to and enough energy for a three day trip. Thanks to Stark we have them,” you explained. 

“I hate that we work for a billionaire,” Deacon grumbled. No one was fully sure of what Deacon’s real name was. You knew it because you hired him. He adopted his nickname from Fallout 4 and stuck with it.

“We don’t work for him Deacon. We’re an independent group of scientists with funding from Stark Industries...there’s a difference,” you argued. He raised an eyebrow in your direction.

“Potay-to, Potah-to, Twister. Stark pays our bills, and I for one say, eat the rich,” Deacon replied. You shook your head at him. 

“Well when you’re done plotting how you’re going to overthrow the bourgeoisie, I need you to finish a last check on the probes, Deacon. You know. Your job,” you said. You saw him roll his eyes and laughed to yourself. 

You had two modes of transport. The van followed the pickup truck. The probes would be launched from your truck closer to the tornado. All you had to do was press a button on a remote you had in the cab of the truck. It was the first time the probes were going to be used. Up until then, your research had depending on distance analysis and observing the damage after a storm.

“National Weather Service just issued a tornado warning. It’s go time. Radar indicated rotation about two miles south,” Cody said. She was your eyes and ears on almost everything. She and Casey worked together tracking the radar and any warnings. Your main job was ensuring your team stayed safe and analyzing the data that came in. 

You had a degree in meteorological and atmospheric sciences. It was your passion. You had graduated from Cornell and had your master’s, with a dream of getting your PhD eventually. Your encounter with Tony Stark had changed your life for the better. 

Anxiety was setting in as you and your team headed south toward Lynchburg. You had a good idea of where the tornado would touch down based on the radar imaging. Cody and Casey remained in the van with Deacon driving. You were on your own in the pickup. You always worried going into a storm. About your safety. About the safety of your team. It was only natural.

“FRIDAY what’s the radar looking like?” you asked the AI as you drove. Tony had outfitted your truck with access to FRIDAY. You argued at first but she was helpful in a pinch. He had done a lot to add protection to your truck and the van. You knew he worried about you, which still shocked you. 

“There is rotation approximately a half mile south,” she said. You nodded to yourself, and opened up the comms, another gift from Tony.

“We’re about a half mile out. There’s definite upward motion on that cloud up ahead. Pull off to the left coming up. We don’t want to get too close to this thing,” you said.

“Rain. We need to be ready to move. If this thing is rain wrapped,” Cody said her voice trailing off. 

“Looks like we’ve got touch down. I’m deploying the probes. FRIDAY’s sensors will guide them toward the tornado,” you said as you pressed the button. You watched as the probes flew off toward the storm, praying they worked. When confirmation came from the team you had silent moment of celebration.

“Twist, I think we gotta go, this thing is going to come up toward us and we don’t want to get caught out,” Casey said.

“Copy, Sheridan. Let’s continue moving to the south. We can avoid running into it and still gather images. Keep your eyes up Deacon, you never know when something will pop up,” you said. 

You drove forward, keeping an eye on the storm as you tracked it’s path, doing your best to judge what a safe distance was. You didn’t expect the debris that knocked into the truck that made you swerve off the road and flip. 

* * *

Tony was pacing around the lab. Bruce was doing his best to reassure Tony. Most of the team had never met you, but Bruce had. Your innate curiosity always managed to turn things around and diffuse the tension when Bruce and Tony would argue.

“We have a problem,” FRIDAY said, breaking the tense silence.

“What’s going on?” Tony asked, trying not to sound panic.

“Sensors in her truck indicate that there was an impact and the truck has flipped on its side,” FRIDAY said.

“Is she alert?” Tony asked.

“In and out, sir. I will patch you in to their comms,” the AI said. Tony knew as soon as he was patched in.

“Status report,” Tony said.

“Christ Stark a little warning,” Sheridan snapped.

“Noted. Now, status report,” Tony said.

“A piece of debris hit the pick up. We were about one hundred feet back. She went careening off the side of the road and the truck flipped. EMS ETA is about ten minutes. She’s been in and out of consciousness but there doesn’t seem to be major external injury,” Cody replied. 

It didn’t take Tony long to get to Virginia, not with a quinjet. He was grateful to have Helen Cho on his payroll now, because as soon as you were stable, you were going to the compound, no arguments. There were few people Tony cared about on a deeper level. You were one of them. 

“Kid’s in surgery, but the doctors think she’ll be fine,” Tony said. He called Pepper as soon as he had news.

“She won’t be happy about being dragged to the compound,” Pepper pointed out.

“Tough. She needs to recover, not be out on the next chase. Her team agrees. They’re all going on vacation to be with their families, no argument. She needs to rest. And we both know she won’t do that if she’s not at the compound,” Tony said.

“You’re on your own then. Because we both know she’s not going to like it,” Pepper said. Tony sighed. 

“She’ll be on board when I give her free reign of the lab,” Tony said.

After talking to Pepper it was a waiting game.Tony had to pull serious strings to be able to see you. Your family was hours away and they weren’t going to come. He knew that. If you were awake, you’d know that. It had been that way for a long time. Another reason Tony worried about you, why he looked out for you. 

“Hey kiddo,” he said once you were awake. 

“Tony?” you asked, your voice raspy. 

“Yeah. You had a bit of an accident,” he said. He watched your expression change as the memory of what happened came back. You groaned. He wasn’t sure if it was in pain or annoyance.

“How’s the truck?” you asked. He snorted. 

“I’m having it brought back up to New York. Too much Stark Tech in that thing to let it go to a salvage yard,” he said.

“So it’s totaled?” you asked.

“Afraid so, kiddo. Gert is no more,” he said. You had named the truck, something that amused Tony to no end. 

“And the others?” you asked.

“They’re fine. A little shaken, but fine. The van’s coming back up to the compound too while you recover. Your team is taking time off too. Visiting their families,” he said. You looked at him. He knew an argument was brewing. It was prime time for tornado season. You didn’t want to miss it.

“Tony,” you started to say. He shook his head.

“Kid, you broke your leg. You’re down for the season. You need to rest and recover,” he said.

“But you have that cradle thing,” you argued.

“That we only use for life threatening injuries or if we desperately need someone back in the field. There’s no shame in letting things heal the old fashioned way,” he said. 

“I need to be back out there,” you argued.

“No. You need to rest. Your team needs time to rest. They thought you were a goner, kid. You’re lucky it seems to only be a minor concussion and a broken leg,” Tony retorted. A nurse soon came in, ending the standoff between the two of you. It wasn’t long before you were being brought up to the roof, where a quinjet was, and loaded in to be brought to the compound. Tony hadn’t come alone.

“Romanoff, meet Jo Thornton. I think you two will be spending a lot of time together,” Tony said. You glared at him.

“That’s not my name,” you snapped before offering your real name up. Tony had a habit of calling you by the name of the main character from Twister. You preferred the nickname Twister or Twist, if for no other reason than it being the nickname of a character from Rocket Power.

“Well, you know what they say Dorothy. There’s no place like home,” Natasha said as the aircraft began making its descent. Tony had opted to pilot it, leaving you to get acquainted with Natasha. You had a feeling she was one of the people Tony was going to rope into looking after you. 

You allowed yourself to relax and drift off into a light sleep, dreaming of your next chase and the thrill that came with it. 


End file.
